--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You have a longing to be understood, but…" description: "\"“You have a longing to be understood, but still feel the need to protect yourself.”\" — Emily P. Freeman" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/191/emily-p-freeman-10156_nostalgia_you-have-a-longing-to-be-understood-but_1910584.jpg" --- # You have a longing to be understood, but still feel the… ![“You have a longing to be understood, but still feel the need to protect yourself.” quote by Emily P. Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/191/emily-p-freeman-10156_nostalgia_you-have-a-longing-to-be-understood-but_1910584.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/191/emily-p-freeman-10156_nostalgia_you-have-a-longing-to-be-understood-but_1910584.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/191/emily-p-freeman-10156_nostalgia_you-have-a-longing-to-be-understood-but_1910584.jpg) > ““You have a longing to be understood, but still feel the need to protect yourself.”” [Emily P. Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-p-freeman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People crave understanding yet also guard themselves from vulnerability. **In simple terms:** Want to be understood but protect yourself. Key Takeaway Balance openness with healthy boundaries. Themes vulnerability self‑protection communication Mood reflective cautious Type advice observational When to use this quote - relationships - therapy - conflict resolution Key Concepts psychology emotional intelligence Questions to Reflect On - How can you share without feeling exposed? - What boundaries keep you safe? A Different Perspective Over‑protectiveness can block authentic connection. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Longing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/longing/) [Nostalgia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nostalgia/) ## Related quotes > [“I would lie for hours by the window gazing down upon the black lake and up at the mountains silhouetted against the wan sky,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/i-would-lie-for-hours-by-the-window-gazing-down-upon-the-black-lake/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Inside the heart of each and every one of us there is a longing to be understood by someone who really cares. When a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rev-ed-hird/inside-the-heart-of-each-and-every-one-of-us-there-is-a-longing-to-be/) Rev Ed Hird > [You don't want to be taken advantage of in a current endeavor. 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And so we push…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaya-dlanga/and-so-we-push-them-away-because-a-twisted-logic-tells-us-that-we/) Khaya Dlanga > [We need to protect people with pre-existing conditions, and we need to make sure that we have a safety net for people that can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-gianforte/we-need-to-protect-people-with-pre-existing-conditions-and-we-need-to/) [Greg Gianforte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-gianforte/) > [“Our mental environment is a common-property resource like the air or the water. We need to protect ourselves from unwanted incursions into it, much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kalle-lasn/our-mental-environment-is-a-common-property-resource-like-the-air-or/) [Kalle Lasn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kalle-lasn/) > [We need to and must protect privacy. But I think that people will be willing and even eager to share medical information about themselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-soon-shiong/we-need-to-and-must-protect-privacy-but-i-think-that-people-will-be/) [Patrick Soon-Shiong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-soon-shiong/) ## More by Emily P. Freeman > [“This is also a book abut God, about what it means--and what it doesn't mean--to believe.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-p-freeman/this-is-also-a-book-abut-god-about-what-it-means-and-what-it-doesn-t/) [Emily P. Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-p-freeman/) > [“But understand that the reason it is so difficult to extend forgiveness to those who have failed us is because we are unable to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-p-freeman/but-understand-that-the-reason-it-is-so-difficult-to-extend/) [Emily P. Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-p-freeman/) > [“He (God) never promises that our families will be safe. Not in the way we think. He does promise his presence, though.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-p-freeman/he-god-never-promises-that-our-families-will-be-safe-not-in-the-way/) [Emily P. Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-p-freeman/) > [“Without looking up to God, sinking leads to drowning. But when my eyes are locked on his, sinking tells a different story. Drop the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-p-freeman/without-looking-up-to-god-sinking-leads-to-drowning-but-when-my-eyes/) [Emily P. Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-p-freeman/) > [“I didn't want to be such a good girl anymore. I wanted people to fear messing with me. ... I wanted to be intimidating.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-p-freeman/i-didn-t-want-to-be-such-a-good-girl-anymore-i-wanted-people-to-fear/) [Emily P. Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-p-freeman/) > [“Steven Pressfield writes in his bestselling book The War of Art, “Self-doubt can be an ally. This is because it serves as an indicator…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-p-freeman/steven-pressfield-writes-in-his-bestselling-book-the-war-of-art-self/) [Emily P. Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-p-freeman/) > [“God gives us the courage to face those fears and then invites us to move toward him in the midst of them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-p-freeman/god-gives-us-the-courage-to-face-those-fears-and-then-invites-us-to/) [Emily P. Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-p-freeman/) > [“Maybe you're wondering what it actually means to live a graceful life. We've got many chapters ahead to figure out what that might look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-p-freeman/maybe-you-re-wondering-what-it-actually-means-to-live-a-graceful-life/) [Emily P. Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-p-freeman/) > [“... the voice of the Dreamer convinced me that 'later' would always be better than 'now', that 'someday' is where life will really happen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-p-freeman/the-voice-of-the-dreamer-convinced-me-that-later-would-always-be/) [Emily P. Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-p-freeman/) > [“Because I care so much about what you think, my hiding has everything to do with you. I desperately want to manage your opinion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-p-freeman/because-i-care-so-much-about-what-you-think-my-hiding-has-everything/) [Emily P. Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-p-freeman/) > [“The question I constantly asked myself was this: What am I supposed to do?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-p-freeman/the-question-i-constantly-asked-myself-was-this-what-am-i-supposed-to/) [Emily P. Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-p-freeman/) > [“When we listen to the voice of the Dreamer and hide behind our somedays, we miss out on the gifts of today.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-p-freeman/when-we-listen-to-the-voice-of-the-dreamer-and-hide-behind-our/) [Emily P. Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-p-freeman/) > [“...being a good girl is more about what you believe on the inside that how you behave on the outside. That means whether you've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-p-freeman/being-a-good-girl-is-more-about-what-you-believe-on-the-inside-that/) [Emily P. Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-p-freeman/) > [“You miss the living because you are waiting for perfect, and so you let goodness and blessings pass you right on by.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-p-freeman/you-miss-the-living-because-you-are-waiting-for-perfect-and-so-you/) [Emily P. Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-p-freeman/) > [“That's what service does. It points us to Jesus, not to ourselves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-p-freeman/that-s-what-service-does-it-points-us-to-jesus-not-to-ourselves/) [Emily P. Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-p-freeman/) [Explore all 67 Emily P. Freeman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-p-freeman/) ## More Longing quotes > [At the centre of the human heart is the longing for an absolute good, a longing which is always there and is never appeased…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/at-the-centre-of-the-human-heart-is-the-longing-for-an-absolute-good/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [“Haunted by the longing to feel something real, deep and magical; I searched for a shared ecstasy... that's when you came along.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lebo-grand/haunted-by-the-longing-to-feel-something-real-deep-and-magical-i/) [Lebo Grand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lebo-grand/) > [Sometimes it has to do with other longings that are much more existential. Sometimes you go elsewhere not because you are not liking the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-perel/sometimes-it-has-to-do-with-other-longings-that-are-much-more/) [Esther Perel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-perel/) > [Could it be in longing we are most ourselves?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/li-young-lee/could-it-be-in-longing-we-are-most-ourselves/) [Li-Young Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/li-young-lee/) > [Tireless passion, fierce jealousy, longing to possess and crush-these alone were left of all his love for Rosalind; these remained to him as payment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/tireless-passion-fierce-jealousy-longing-to-possess-and-crush-these/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“She pretended not to notice the look of longing in his eyes. It didn’t mean anything.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-o-brien/she-pretended-not-to-notice-the-look-of-longing-in-his-eyes-it-didn-t/) Kevin O'Brien > [The artist's experience lies so unbelievably close to the sexual, to its pain and its pleasure, that the two phenomena are really just different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/the-artist-s-experience-lies-so-unbelievably-close-to-the-sexual-to/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [“My only enemy is the miles of distance that's there between us, my favorite place is the road that leads me to you -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jyoti-patel/my-only-enemy-is-the-miles-of-distance-that-s-there-between-us-my/) [Jyoti Patel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jyoti-patel/) > [The sense that in this universe we are treated as strangers, the longing to be acknowledged, to meet with some response, to bridge some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-sense-that-in-this-universe-we-are-treated-as-strangers-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [By the time they were pulling into the parking lot of the A&P, the mood was fading, the moment gone. Amy could feel it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-strout/by-the-time-they-were-pulling-into-the-parking-lot-of-the-a-p-the/) [Elizabeth Strout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-strout/) > [But I still has enough longing for that concept that I didn't want to dispel it completely. Meaning: I didn't want to tell Lily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/but-i-still-has-enough-longing-for-that-concept-that-i-didn-t-want-to/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [Do the kind of things that come from the heart, When you do, you won't be dissatisfied, you won't be envious, you won't be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/do-the-kind-of-things-that-come-from-the-heart-when-you-do-you-won-t/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“And how do you really feel? Like I'll never recover. Like I'll never draw another breath without half of it being a wish for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-seville/and-how-do-you-really-feel-like-i-ll-never-recover-like-i-ll-never/) [Jane Seville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-seville/) > [The future teachers I try to recruit are those show have refused to let themselves be neutered in this way, either in their private…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-kozol/the-future-teachers-i-try-to-recruit-are-those-show-have-refused-to/) [Jonathan Kozol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-kozol/) > [The greatest tales, well told, awaken the fears and longings of the listeners. Each man hears a different story. Each is touched by it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juliet-marillier/the-greatest-tales-well-told-awaken-the-fears-and-longings-of-the/) [Juliet Marillier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juliet-marillier/) [Browse all 2,553 Longing quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/longing/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“You have a longing to be understood, but still feel the need to protect yourself.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Emily P. 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